All's Quiet in Vienna

Ahh, I'm relaxing in the quiet, super-efficient and slightly boring* city of Vienna on a Sunday. There could hardly be more of a contrast with the intensity of India that I've just left.

*only in contrast to India, I'm sure.

As Mark mentioned, I had a wee bit of travel nightmare trying to leave India. I felt like Al Pacino in Godfather 3: 'Everytime I try to get out, they pull me back in."  

My connecting flight to Bombay was cancelled and the next flight was so late that my 8 hour layover in Bombay had completely evaporated by the time I landed. So I missed my 1 am flight to Vienna and had to spend the next four hours at the airport trying to figure out when I could fly out and what I was going to do in the meantime. After learning that the Austrian Airlines airport office couldn't rebook me, I went to the Indian Airlines office to try and get accommodation for the night.

I spent over two hours in their office and talked to five levels of management, but in the end they were determined to stonewall me until I left without hotel accommodation. Sometime like this would never happen in America--just one last lesson from India before I left. With no knowledge of Bombay, I then had to brave the hotel touts outside the airport at 5 am. I took my chance with one and got to the hotel at 5:30 am. Unfortunately I could only sleep about 2 1/2 hours because I had to call the airline office as soon as it opened to try and get a flight out.

Unfortunately the office told me that Saturday's 1 am flight was booked, so I could only get confirmed for Sunday night. That meant that I would be stuck in Bombay for two days and would miss the first day of my yoga workshop with Zhander Remete. I asked if I could go to the airport and fly standby. The Bombay airline office told me that they don't do stand-by in India and that I was unlikely to get on. She couldn't really imagine why I wouldn't just be fine waiting the extra day for my confirmed flight. 

Fortunately, I decided not to listen and went to the airport that night anyway. I got a different story there. If there was space, they would be happy to get me on-board. It was their job to fill the airplane. Given the haphazard and over-taxed nature of domestic flights into Bombay, there turned out to be plenty of room on the flight, and I got on without further problem.

And what a relief it was! As much as I loved my month in India, once I was ready to go, I was very ready to go. 

I'm looking forward to three weeks of yoga and rest here in Vienna. It feels like it will be the perfect was to transition between India and home.

See you in May!

Ian